I first learned about Micro Brawlers a couple of years ago. For the uninitiated, they're 3" minifigures of wrestling legends (e.g. those not current under WWE contract) and were initially exclusive to Pro Wrestling Crates.
They've since appeared for sale on the Pro Wrestling Tees website and I saw a bunch of them displayed at the Pro Wrestling Tees store in Chicago when I visited there in 2019. I kicked the tires on a few of them, but just decided they weren't worth picking up.
Of course, I immediately had non-buyers remorse and decided that starting a small collection of Micro Brawlers was in order.
Beginning with the packaging... I would consider this to be "simple yet effective." A clear cellophane sleeve so you can see the front and back of each performer, held together with a small piece of cardboard that shows a picture of the wrestler and a version of their logo.
Is it as comprehensive as the housing for, say, a WWE Mattel figure? Definitely not. But it's certainly not without its charm.
Once you've unsheathed these bad boys from their cellophane, they're fairly detailed collectibes for what they are.
The first Micro Brawler I purchased was King Kong Bundy, given he's arguably my all-time favorite competitor. Plus he was on sale when I found him, AND there were only a limited number of them available!
I also took advantage of the site's Mystery Micro Brawler Grab Bag promotion, in which I ordered four other figures without knowing who I would end up with.
Bruiser Brody was an unexpected (but awesome) choice to receive, with him pulling at strands of his hair and his scarred forehead proudly on display here. Kamala was even better, as I received The Ugandan Giant (made in China, according to his packaging - not Uganda) only a couple of weeks before his untimely passing.
The other wrestlers to come in my Mystery Micro Brawlers Grab Bag were Brutus The Barber Beefcake (with hedge clippers) and El Generico (e.g. the ROH masked predecessor to Sami Zayn). While I wouldn't have actively sought out Generico on my own... it's actually a really good figure.
Evidently, Pro Wrestling Tees sent me a good chunk of their overstock: every time I look for Micro Brawlers on eBay, there's some combination of Generico, Beefcake, Kamala and Brody available for sale. These four don't appear to be of the same "Limited Edition" vintage as Bundy was but hey... I'm hardly complaining! These figs are packed with detail, such as muscle definition, T-shirt designs and, in Beefcake's case, a bowtie.
Following the Grab Bag incident, I decided to take advantage of a Pro Wrestling Tees sale promotion and pick up Terry Funk, resplendent in taped fists, multicolored trunks, a red headband and his patented "Funk U" shirt.
The other Micro Brawlers I picked up individually during that sale were Arn Anderson (complete with 3D-printed chest hair and flashing The Four Horsemen hand symbol) and Scott Steiner (in early-2000s Big Poppa Pump gear, complete with chainmail. Neither disappointed in the least.
And from eBay, I found another of my all-time faves, The Honky Tonk Man who, in addition to having long sideburns and his hair slicked back, brandishes his trusty guitar as a bonus.
In researching this article, I've discovered there are DOZENS of other Micro Brawlers out there, ranging from WWE Hall of Famers such as The Road Warriors, Eddie Guerrero, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Randy Savage and Andre The Giant to AEW stars such as Cody Rhodes, Dustin Rhodes, Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks, Colt Cabana and Hangman Page, to somewhat more obscure names such as Bushi, Cheesburger and "Fat Ass" MASA. Way too many to collect everything!
As a cool bonus, Micro Brawlers are roughly the same size as WWE Mystery Minis by Funko (although not quite as thick as them), allowing one to mix and match their collection of desk-topper sized wrestlers into one massive battle royal of current stars and legends.
It's the perfect activity to carry out if you happen to have way too much time on your hands.